Talking to Your Kids About Drugs

By Jennifer Martin and Christine Mahuron

Are you the parent of a pre-teen or teenager that is exhibiting some of the following behaviors?

·         Drop in grades

·         Poor achievement

·         Mood shifts

·         Dishonesty

·         Parental defiance

·         Smoking cigarettes at a young age

·         Delinquent friends

·         Late/unexplained hours

·         Disappearance of money or possessions around the home

·         Antisocial behavior

·         Often draws pot leaves, drugs, or drug symbols

·         Red, watery eyes

Some of these signs are just normal, teenage behavior.  However, if several of these signs describe your adolescent or if some of these signs seemed to have a sudden, unexplained onset, your child may be experimenting with drugs/alcohol.  Few parents want to believe this about their teenager, but unfortunately, drug experimentation/use is a growing problem throughout our state and nation and can unknowingly turn into an addictive behavior. 

Addictive drug behaviors can have seemingly simple beginnings.  Some start innocently enough with cigarette smoking, followed by using marijuana or alcohol.  Some teenagers then progress into using more addictive drugs.  Drug use and any other addictive disorders can become problematic if they are not caught early and addressed appropriately through education and other resources.  When considering if your child may have an addictive behavior, keep in mind that research shows that genetics and family history play a part in how quickly or whether or not some young people form addictive behaviors.  Also, young people with scholastic, emotional, and/or behavioral difficulties are also more prone to addictive behaviors. 

It has been reported by the national notMYkid organization that much drug experimentation occurs during transition times—going from elementary to middle school or from middle to high school.  Shockingly, notMYkid data shows the national average age for first time drug use is 13 and also states that drug use triples between 6^th and 8^th grade.  Therefore, the middle school years are a time when parents must play a central role in the lives of their children.  Though this is a time where rebellion may start beginning to appear, it is also an age when kids still listen to their parents. The notMYkid organization believes that middle school is an essential time to educate parents about drug use and habit in order to protect kids. 

To help parents become more aware of data and resources available to help our youth, notMYkid will be sponsoring a free information session presented by local school counselors on Tuesday, March 9, 2010 at 6:30 pm at SalemMiddle School in the cafeteria.  The program is open to the community.  Parents of students in grades 4-12 are particularly encouraged to attend.  Those attending will receive a free home use drug test, one per family, funded by the notMYkid program.

notMYkid is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to inspiring positive life choices through education.  It is a national parent education program aimed at preventing substance abuse by teenagers through the education of parents and the establishment of proactive prevention programs in the home. The notMYkid program is presented for FREE in communities across all 50 states thanks to notMYkid and First Check Diagnostics.  More information about the topics and data presented in this article and general information about the notMYkid organization can be found at www.notmykid.org

  If you have questions about the notMYkid program on Tuesday, March 9th, please contact Jennifer Martin (812.883.3904/ jmartin@salemschools.com )  or Christine Mahuron (812.883.3808/  cmahuron@salemschools.com ).